]]>Régis Darqueshttp://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/8341
2017-12-13Catalogue of potential ancient ports in the Black SeaA ‘harbour’ is a place where ships can seek shelter. The concept of ‘shelter’ has to include anchorages, landing places on beaches, and ports with infrastructures. Even though ancient seafarers could sail 50 to 100 nautical miles in a day, it was important to know where they could find safe shelter within two to three hours of navigation, i.e. only approximately 10 miles. For safe sailing, a total of at least 300 shelters was therefore required around the Black Sea and Azov Sea. This paper presents a list and map of 388 known ancient harbours in the Black Sea and Azov Sea, and concludes that ancient ports are probably still to be found in Ukraine and southern Russia.]]>Arthur de Graauwhttp://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/8326
2017-12-13Geoarchaeology of Phasis (Georgia)The City of Phasis is located on the East coast of the Black Sea (Georgia). The location of the biggest and most successful of the colonies established by Ionian Greeks is still not known, a subject that has attracted interest from scholars for almost two hundred years. Based on written sources, geomorphological and archeological data, it is assumed that, due to tectonic and geomorphological changes, part of the ancient settlement/cultural layers dating back to the 1st mill. BC are below current sea level. These two changes mean that the present landscape is completely different to the 1st mill. BC situation. This observation is significant in resolving Phasis’s location. We report that: 1. The Greeks did not establish the city of Phasis adjacent to a lake. 2. The early city was located north of the river. 3. Early Phasis (6th-4th c. BC) is consistent with the settlement of Sagvichio or east of it.]]>Vakhtang Lichelihttp://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/8317
2017-12-13Emergence of agriculture on the Taman Peninsula, RussiaThe temporal and spatial diffusion of early agriculture across Europe from the Fertile Crescent has been widely studied, but data from the Caucasian corridor are still rare. This study shows the first evidence for the cultivation of cereals and anthropogenic fires in southern Russia, between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, 7000 years ago. It suggests that the Caucasian corridor contributed to the spread of agricultural practices throughout the steppes of Eurasia. This study also shows the strong impact of these practices on the dynamics of local coastal and forested ecosystems. ]]>David KaniewskiMatthieu GiaimeNick MarrinerChristophe MorhangeNataliya S. BolikhovskayaAlexey V. PorotovElise Van Campohttp://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/8300
2017-12-13Quantification des terres arables du Bosphore antiqueLe royaume du Bosphore occupe durant le ive siècle av. J.-C. une place importante dans l’histoire du monde grec. Nous savons qu’il était alors l’un des plus grands producteurs de céréales commercialisables. Or, une intense production céréalière présuppose l’existence d’un système agricole structuré. Les sols fertiles ont joué de toute évidence un rôle important dans la mise en place et le développement de ce modèle économique. Dans cette perspective, le présent article propose une méthode d’estimation appliquée à la superficie maximale potentielle des terres arables du royaume du Bosphore. Par ailleurs, sur la base des données archéologiques, certaines hypothèses peuvent être formulées sur l’intensité de l’utilisation des terres arables dans les différentes régions du Bosphore, lesquelles nous permettent en retour d’approcher la superficie maximale couverte par la céréaliculture. Le résultat de ces estimations suggère que les sols fertiles étaient suffisamment abondants dans le roya...]]>Gennady Garbuzovhttp://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/8278
2017-12-13Fluvial dynamics and phases of landscape development in the Bronze Age settlement area of the Sambek valley (northeastern hinterland of the Sea of Azov)We present results of a geomorphological-sedimentological study on the Holocene evolution and the Bronze Age palaeoenvironment of a lowland river valley in the Russian northeastern Azov Sea hinterland. The study investigates the valley of the Sambek, 15 km west of the Don Delta. This area has been colonized since the Bronze Age, as settlements and burial mounds testify. The results show that in the early Holocene the valley floor was captured by a meandering river system and sedimentation was dominated by autochthonous processes in oxbow environments. From the mid-Holocene until about fifty years ago, allochthonous processes in the form of overbank deposition prevailed. After the construction of reservoirs along the river course in the 1960s, the fluvial system changed back to autochthonous depositional processes. The prehistoric changes of the fluvial dynamics do not coincide with settlement phases. We assume they were climatically induced. Since the Bronze Age, siltation has cause...]]>Marlen SchlöffelSteffen SchneiderBrigitta Schütthttp://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/8265
2017-12-13Coastal geoarchaeology of Kerkinitis (Northwestern Crimea)The coastal landscape in of northwestern Crimea is characterized by numerous salt lakes (locally called limans) separated from the sea by sand barriers. The formation of the lakes was mostly induced by inundation of the lower reaches of fluvial valleys and trough-like kettle holes during the transgression of the Black Sea basin. Lake Sasyk-Sivash formed due to the simultaneous inundation of the coastal area and several radiating ravines (locally called balkas). The lake was possibly not completely separated from the sea during the ancient Greek period. This can explain the existence of six Chersonesean farmhouses and two ancient Greek vineyards on the remotest northern shore of the lake, which is furthest from the sea. Geological coring on the western margin of ancient Kerkinitis revealed lagoonal silts, at a depth of 1.6‑2.0 m. These indicate that the water level of the Black Sea basin near what is now Yevpatoriya was -2 m in the mid-1st millennium BC. The coastline in western Crim...]]>Vadim A. KutaisovTat’jana N. Smekalovahttp://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/8262
2017-12-13The prehistoric salt-production and urban center of Provadia-Solnitsata, Northeastern BulgariaThis contribution summarizes the main results of 10 years of archaeological research in Solnitsata, located in Northeastern Bulgaria close to the modern city of Provadia. It constitutes the first prehistoric urban center in Europe (4700‑4200 BC). Its development is closely connected with the exploitation of the so-called Mirovsko salt deposit which underlies the ancient settlement. This latter is articulated around a salt-production center, a fortified stonewall settlement (citadel), a sacrificial pit and a necropolis covering a total area of approximately 13 ha. ]]>Vassil Nikolovhttp://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/8246
2017-12-13An Early Bronze Age pile-dwelling settlement of discovered in Alepu lagoon (municipality of Sozopol, department of Burgas), BulgariaA new pile-dwelling settlement has been discovered during coring investigations on the shores of the Alepu lagoon (municipality of Sozopol, department of Burgas), on the western Black Sea coast, in Bulgaria. A multi-disciplinary methodology was applied to analyze the archaeological dataset, composed of wood piles, abundant charcoals and wood fragments, seeds, fish and shell remains, a few small bone fragments, some lithic fragments and potsherds. The piles were trimmed from oak trees and sunk into lagoonal muds, and currently lie 5.8 to 6.8 m below mean sea level. It highlights a wooden building at the edge of Alepu palaeo-lagoon. Charcoal remains confirm the use of oak tree as a dominant timber resource, consistent with pollen data for this period. Palaeo-botanic remains highlight gathering activities and the consumption of wild grapes, raspberries and figs. The herbaceous assemblage evokes deforestation activities. Exploitation of coastal resources is well attested by the great de...]]>Clément FlauxPauline RouchetTzvetana PopovaMyriam SternbergFrédéric GuibalBrigitte TalonAlexandre BaralisKrastina PanayotovaChristophe MorhangeAtila Vassiliev Riapovhttp://journals.openedition.org/mediterranee/8203
2017-12-13